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White concepts, white viniculture

Doron | 24/02/2013

I believe in the themes of balance and listening, to go with the natural tendency of the wine and not against it.

White concepts, white viniculture

Doron | 24/02/2013

I believe in the themes of balance and listening, to go with the natural tendency of the wine and not against it. These motifs are important in the process of doing all types of wine. In the case of White wine, in my opinion, they are crucial.

I believe in the themes of balance and listening, to go with the natural tendency of the wine and not against it. These motifs are important in the process of doing all types of wine. In the case of White wine, in my opinion, they are crucial.

There are some unique characteristics of white viniculture and white Winery.

In the following article I will try to analyze the nuances , that in my opinion are so essential for creating white wine in the process of “white concepts.” The Main focus in my article will be on what is happening in the vineyards.

White Viniculture

Imagination – to create a wine one must have vision and intent. To create a white wine without layers and makeup the intentions and future predictions should be even sharper.

White oenology processes are affected more by weather and Agro Technique – they can be critical factors in the quality of the final wine.

“Good wine begins in the vineyard” is a statement often heard in our field, but the meaning is reinforced in the white arena. The land, the climate and the upbringing of the vine accompanied with the response and / or lack of response makes the human factor crucial.

Timing – you can probably say that the right timing is essential in any process; I claim that the quality white wine can stand or fall within a matter of few days.

I Escort the vineyards during the critical days before harvest.

Any decisions should be made immediately. White grapes are not patient; any delayed decision might result in a wine that is not the correct representative for its varietal.

This is particularly evident in the delicate Sauvignon Blanc grape – late harvest will create a white wine that might be good, but in my opinion will be free of identity that is so important.

Growth and shading – In white varieties the actions we take in the vineyard are particularly important in building the landscape of the vine, which means pruning and creating configuration of the vine to bring it to its optimal – foliage ratio, exposure or concealment of the grapes clusters.

In Some species, for example Riesling, I will hide the grapes under the foliage in others, like the Sémillon or Chardonnay, I would actually expose clusters to the air and the wind at certain points during vegetative growth and sugar maturation.

Water regime – a true regime, even a dictatorship … white wine vintner’s attention to the issue of water is great. My aim is to produce a balanced and harmonious growth. I follow the vegetative growth of the vineyard and offer support of Irrigation sequence to produce even vegetative growth I watch the growth attentavly to prevent stress of the vine (creating and manipulating the vine through artificial stress conditions is common and acceptable in growing red varieties(.

I believe in the vineyard – I see it as an responsive entity. My job is not to “fight / educate” it but to support and accompany the vineyard so it can reach its potential in the form of great grapes.

Maturation – I taste the grapes. I taste the grapes in the vineyard – I trust myself to collect enormous amount of data from the actual tasting, much more than just – sugar levels, acid or color.

These parameters are tested in the winery lab on a weekly basis at the beginning of ripening and then every second week towards the picking, but after weighing analytical data the winemaker must touch and engage himself in the process: only the final tasting and inspection of grape in the vineyard will lead me to the decision which will be the date of harvest.

Vintage – preferably at night or in the morning. The temperature of the grape and its surrounding is critical. once the grape is harvested Ainzmteim processes in it are in progress. the hotter it is the faster the process is – and that is not recommended.

Manual Vintage – In varieties of red wine it is preferably to harvest manually ,the truth is that not always the mechanical intervention will affect the quality of the red grape. White varieties are more sensitive, much more, so it is important to manually harvest the grapes and transfer the grapes from the vineyards to the winery in small crates, the damage or the weight operated on the clusters is significantly smaller and integrity is maintained..

Speed transition from vineyard to winery is critical. This criterion is a significant consideration in the decision on how to harvest and often leads winemakers to prefer a quality Mechanical grape harvest and by that to allow rapid transfer to the winery. Winery like ours, who works with small amounts would rather reinforce its manpower and harvest manually.

Refrigerated transport – everything is ready, the vineyard are empty and winery awaits Process began, the clock is ticking and events cannot be returned … believe me I tried…